A Day at the Lake

August 8th we went to the boss’ lake house for the day. His boss invited all the new Engineers out. He has a boat, a jet ski, water skis, and tubes to go tubing on. The lake is about 95 miles from here, so needless to say it took awhile to get there. We only took two detours the whole time, but part of the fun is getting there, right? We arrived fashionably late – 45 minutes to be exact. James and I thought we were cooking out for lunch, so we did not eat anything on the way and were “starving” by the time we made it. But as our luck was that day, the cookout wasn’t until that night and we only had a few chips and dip. As awful as that sounds, we managed and are still alive so we were not starving to death! We all got into our swimsuits and got on the boat. They actually had a life jacket small enough to fit James! He was so adorable in his life jacket, but it was just about as big as he is. The boat went pretty fast and James had a hard time keeping his eyes open. But when he would open them, he would have a big grin on his face. He seemed to really enjoy himself. We got back to the dock, and other people arrived. James IV and his daddy went out into the water for a quick dip. James let the life jacket do the work and James IV was floating in the water all by himself! He liked it until he got water in his ears. We spent most of the afternoon just talking and hanging out on the huge boat dock. James IV took a nap out there, and we held him and rocked. After James IV woke up from his nap, James and I decided it would be fun to go tubing behind the jet ski. This was my first time to do this and I think I screamed the ENTIRE time! I had a blast though…until his boss slowed the jet ski and James leaned too far forward. Yep…we fell into the lake. People thought I was screaming before, I made sure people new that I did not like the predicament I was in. I kept screaming and saying, “If I move my feet, the fish won’t get me.” The boy on the back of the jet ski said that fish were actually attracted to movement…haha. Not funny. I ended up riding on the back of the jet ski the rest of the way back because my arms hurt so bad from using all my strength to stay on the tube! I did not think I would be able to hold James for days! When we got back, food was getting ready and we finally got to eat. Unlike everyone else, we had to leave just before seven so James could go to sleep. We really had a great time, and of course everyone googled over James IV, but he took to everyone really well. These pics are not in order, but at least they are here!

Napping on the dock

Swimming in the lake with Daddy


Look Mom, I can float on my back!


Uh, why is this water dirty? Is this supposed to be my bath? :)

Floating all by himself...it was so cute!

Smile for the camera!

This boat is fun!

Just lovin' my time with Mama

He really liked the boat!

He was so relaxed, and it was hard to keep his eyes open.

Wow we are going FAST!

Getting ready to go out on the boat. Isn't the life jacket too cute!

An update from this week...

James IV's second tooth came through this morning! Now we have a two teeth child in our house. He is standing up to anything he can grab onto. He also has perfected the use of his sippy and drinks a whole cup of water each day! We are doing well. Tonight we will go out to eat with two couples from church to get to know each other. I am excited to meet other Mamas. I hope this blog keeps all you avid blog readers happy. We are trying to keep up with your demands, but James kind of makes it a little difficult. :)

July 31st

This is the past week in a nutshell...

The Parade

On Wednesday, people at the State Revenue Office told us the Rodeo Parade would be happening at four. Since the route took them right by our house, we decided to watch it. The parade lasted about an hour and was really neat. There were fire trucks, horses, mules, tractors, 4-wheelers, and much more.

Daddy and James are waiting for the parade to start. James IV was a little hot. We definitely are not used to this weather!
Looking at a tree branch while we waited. James IV really thought that tree was neat. He would touch it and when it moved he would draw his hand back and look like what was that! :)

Those fire trucks were super loud, so we had to protect James' ears. He still liked them though.

Men on horses - there were women too, but not in this picture.

This picture is for Brad. A new 2010 Camaro with a girl riding on top!

This is an awesome old tractor someone drove in the parade!

Peek-a-boo...he was under the blankets and behind the quilt rack. He thought this was really funny until he got stuck and we had to help him out!

James and Daddy on July 31st. This is a special day because 1)it is the start to our new chapter to our lives and 2)James is 9 months old today!

James' first day of work started with James IV and me taking him to work at 8:00. He told me that he basically chased paperwork around most of the day and went to a training seminar. He also found out that he will make his first trip to Big Island, Virginia. (James IV and I are so sad about that one!) Overall, he had a wonderful day and can't wait to go again on Monday!

Right before our one mile car ride to the Paper Plant.

Daddy getting out of the car for his first JOB!

Walking away...see the steam in the background?

Almost there! I am totally sad, but excited at this point. Bye Daddy! See you tonight!

Playing in his crib after nap. So sweet.

So, James IV is nine months old and we cannot believe it! Time definitely flies when you have a little one. Here are some of his big milestones:

*He started crawling YESTERDAY!!! :)

*He can feed himself small pieces of food - like cooked peas, banana chunks, and puffs

*His first tooth on the bottom right side is poking through!

*He babbles all the time! He likes to make his presence known.

*And along with crawling he has found all the electrical outlets in the house...so now there are covers installed.

He is a great baby and we couldn't ask for anything more. Each day comes with new surprises and joys, and we love to spend our days making him happy.

Just chillin in his crib, post nap.

We decided to take a walk before lunch to buy cookie mix - for Daddy's first day of work, pay our water bill, and send a letter. In all we probably walked 1-2 miles! It was hot, but fun.

At work, James received two box tickets to the Rodeo. I have never been to the Rodeo, and I was super excited. We got there and found out that our seats were just about five feet away from the arena! We could literally reach out and touch the horses if we wanted to. James IV really enjoyed himself as well. We are already looking forward to going again next year!

Right after we got there - I think James was hot and didn't know what to think about the smell...

The man who talked the whole time through the Rodeo. He was pretty funny.

So happy to be there.

Our Country's flag - beautiful!

The 72 year old clown at the Rodeo. He was hilarious!

Starting to get tired.

We really wore him out. It was really loud and he fell asleep in his Daddy's arms!

As you can see everything is great down here. I am adjusting to not having James around, and James is getting used to the idea of working. We are excited about what else is to come!

Dallas

Well, our new home is so slow paced and different, we decided to take a break and go to Dallas for an extended weekend (just joking about why we went). After working really hard Thursday night and Friday morning, we left Friday afternoon and went to Texarkana. We stopped by James' grandparents for the night to break up the trip. Then Saturday we arrived in Dallas just after lunchtime. We had such a great time! We swam tons and spent one last quality family time with James' parents, aunt and uncle, and cousins. James even took me to Super Target where I found a few great deals, but of course it was all for James IV! Now, we are headed home tomorrow morning and we are ready to resume small town life. James is anxious about starting his new job on Friday and I am nervous about staying home alone in a foreign town. But the Lord watches over us and will keep us safe and in His arms. He is so good to us, and I know we have nothing to be anxious for. We will be without internet again for possibly an extended period of time, but I will post as soon as I can with interesting news from our new home!

Randomness

This is a random assortment of photos I wanted to upload. This was all within the past month in Fayetteville.

This is James getting ready for his thesis defense. He looks so sharp! And he did such a great job!

James and his best bud right before we left for the defense. James IV was so excited...I think he knew it was a big day!

This is our playdate with a friend from church. We went "swimming" with them in their backyard! Both boys had a great time. James just loves to be outside and especially in the water!

Such a great shot of James IV in the froggy pool.

Both boys having such a great time. Whit was really enjoying the spraying water. James IV sat and watched him drink the water! :)

This is James IV sitting in daddy's filing cabinet. He absolutely loves to sit there and play.

Here is another picture in the drawer. Daddy is doing a great job of watching him isn't he?!

We've Moved!

Well, I know it has been a long time, but we have been in the process of moving! We arrived safely on Monday along with all our household goods. Our house was looking like a warehouse, but each day it gets a little better. James starts work one week from tomorrow, so we are trying to get this all done before he isn't home to help! :) We are enjoying small town life. We have walked many places around town, and we even went to the zoo! It was actually really neat. They have a tiger, a camel, a black bear, and many more animals. The weather is tolerable, and everyone is super nice. We have been so blessed with this opportunity, and each day we are so thankful to live here. It may be far from home, but our families are close to our hearts. We miss everyone so much. I think we are going to be okay. We are going to start looking for a new church home. God is so great for everything he has given us and we are so thankful! Please remember us as we still transition into our new home. And until I can get back to the library to update this (no one has hi speed internet yet - they are hoping to have this service in the next two months), I hope everyone is well and has a great week.

Trip to Iowa

This is a little overdue, but we have been so busy. Our trip to Iowa started Thursday, July 2nd after James' thesis defense. We decided to leave that night at six because we could break up the trip for James IV. I drove for 5 1/2 hours, and then James took over and drove the rest of the way. We stopped in Bellevue, Nebraska to stay the night with some of my parents friends from the military. My parents were already there, so we just crawled into bed around 1 am and got back up at 6 am. Needless to say we were super tired. My parents led the rest of the way to Iowa. James did pretty well the whole trip. He fussed a little, but we kept him entertained with plastic water bottles (they are his favorite toy ever!). James enjoying the trip. We had to put pillows around him so he wouldn't throw his toys overboard!
Mom and Dad on their motorcycle on the way to Iowa.

Once we got there, we visited my Ome in the nursing home. This picture is of five generations. She is James IV's great great grandmother.

My grandma had everyone over for dinner the first night. My cousin is four days older than James IV. He was much more advanced, but it just shows me that every baby will develop at his/her own rate. I know James will "catch up" soon enough. I just enjoy him at this stage each day. This picture is me holding James IV and TJ my cousin who was born Oct. 27th. At first, I thought TJ weighed more, but after a while they were both heavy!

My grandma holding James. This was the first time for her to meet him!

The next day we had our family reunion. The clan is huge...probably 100 people or so. We got together to eat, play softball, eat some more, and enjoy each other's company. This doesn't happen very often, but it was fun.

Here are my boys "playing" the piano. James IV had a blast! He loved making all that noise. :)

Later that night, on the 4th, we went out to my uncle's land to do fireworks. Just my dad's family was there, so there were about twenty of us. My uncle, two cousins, grandpa, and husband did the firework show for us. There were a few close calls, but overall they did a great job and they were really pretty!

We started back home on Tuesday, but we stopped in Kansas City to see some friends. We enjoyed our time there. Overall, this trip was wonderful. We couldn't have asked for a better trip. We probably won't be able to go to Iowa for awhile since James won't get any vacation for a year, but maybe everyone will come see us!

Way to go, Daddy!

Last Thursday marked a very special day in our lives. After two long years in graduate school, James defended his thesis. The days leading up to this were miserable for everyone. James was nervous and would not eat, and I was constantly listening to his presentation - making necessary corrections. But all the trouble was worth it. At 3:00pm James started his presentation. Even though he went entirely too fast, it was great! He hit every major point and thoroughly explained his project. But I was a nervous wreck! All the guests had to leave after he defended and I went into the hall and cried. I thought they were going to smash him with hard questions and not pass him. I waited in the hall, holding a VERY heavy James IV, for about twenty five minutes. Then he came out and said it went well, but we still had to wait for their response. After five more minutes, his advisor called him and asked him to meet him. I followed him upstairs, but waited in the hall. As he opened the door, I heard, "Congratulations, you did a great job!" We have waited so long for those words, and it couldn't have been any sweeter. James came out and was (still is) on cloud nine. We are so proud of his accomplishments, and now we can successfully close this chapter of our lives as we open up new doors. We want to thank all the people who have supported us along the way, especially our families. Without this guidance and support, these past two years would have been near impossible.